Farm Businesses Well-Positioned Financially Despite High Interest Rates

For many farm businesses, the amount of debt they hold is a key factor of their ability to sustain and grow their operations. Data from USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) show that 23 percent of U.S. farms held debt in 2022. Total farm sector debt is expected to reach more than half a trillion dollars in 2024, according to USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) farm income forecasts as of February 7, 2024. Data on operating profit margin—the share of gross income that is profit—show that most midsize, large, and very large family farms reported operating profit margins above 10 percent in 2022. However, most small family farms had an operating profit margin of less than 10 percent, indicating potentially more financial vulnerability.